Smuggling the abortion pill into Texas could land you in legal peril, if this bill becomes law

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Lawyers who filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA's approval of a popular abortion drug respond to critics who say filing the suit in Texas is judge shopping.

A new bill introduced in the Texas legislature aims to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for any terminated pregnancies or deaths stemming from abortion pills.

Under the Wrongful Death Protection Act, individuals — even those out of state — who manufacture, market, mail, distribute, transport, deliver, provision, or possess mifepristone with the intent of facilitating unlawful abortions, are liable for the wrongful deaths of Texas women and children.

"Companies and smuggling networks are profiting from the barbaric death of children in the womb and neglecting the women who are harmed by taking these pills," Rep. Cole Hefner, who introduced the legislation on March 10, said in a statement. "They must not be allowed to escape their direct responsibility for the wrongful deaths of Texans simply because they reside outside our state, and this legislation ensures that will not be allowed to happen."

Mifepristone is the first of two medications prescribed to a woman who plans to abort her unborn baby. Abortion medications are used for 54% of abortions in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

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According to Hefner, his bill was necessary to combat abortion pills illegally trafficked into Texas.

"We have enacted transformative pro-life laws in Texas, but more must be done," the Republican said in his statement. "The deadly abortion pill regimen is everywhere, including in our state."

Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. The pill is used to end pregnancies. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

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Under the legislation, anyone who helps facilitate an unlawful death from an abortion could face up to $5 million in civil penalties. The bill considers an aborted fetus as an unlawful death.

"Abortion pills can be extremely dangerous to women, causing hemorrhaging, the need for surgery and even death," Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told Fox News. "The Biden-Harris administration has ignored these health risks as well as the 500% increase in ER visits since the FDA approved Mifepristone."

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Texas Capitol building where the Wrongful Death Protection Act was introduced earlier this month. (Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

"In response to the federal government’s negligence, states like Texas are creatively taking steps forward to protect unborn children, safeguard the health of women and girls, and hold abortionists accountable," she added.

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After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, Texas' trigger laws took effect, making it illegal in the state to have an abortion except in limited cases where the mother’s life may be at risk. 

Texas’ abortion law is one of the strictest in the country and has led to some Texas women crossing state lines to receive abortions.

"Companies and individuals are exploiting enforcement loopholes by distributing abortion pills into Texas through the mail or via covert networks, profiting off of the deaths of children in the womb," Hefner told Fox News in a statement. "Abortion pills inflict trauma and suffering on the mothers who take them."

"No matter where they reside, the manufacturers of these deadly abortion pills and anyone knowingly distributing and transporting them into Texas cannot act with impunity," he added.

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Hefner, which was provided after publication.